


Your cold hands keep me warm

by Kaowy



Category: In the Flesh (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Flowers, Kieren owns a flower shop, M/M, Simon is a tattoo artist, They are still zombies, in the flesh - Freeform, sieren, tattoo artist - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-13 15:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3386357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaowy/pseuds/Kaowy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every day, when Kieren closed his store, he would walk past the window of the tattoo shop and the guy would always stand behind the counter, and they would look at each other briefly, and then Kieren would continue to walk. Once Kieren has forgotten that he was supposed to go home, so he had looked at the guy for way too long as if he was under some kind of spell. It was only when the guy behind the counter had smirked at him that Kieren had continued to walk with a startled expression on his face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction, so please bear over with me. I've had the idea for a while after a friend suggested "Your otp as a flower shop owner and a tattoo artist, but if A is the obvious choice for the flowershop, make A the tattoo artist". I think it was a pretty fun concept. A million thanks to Liarki for being the best beta in the world. 
> 
> The rating might change at some point

Kieren loved flowers

He liked the big ones, and the small ones.

He liked the smell of them. Because after he lost all sense of feeling, he enjoyed the fact that he could smell things. Flowers were the obvious choice of smell, because they are also a joy for the eyes.

It was early morning, and Kieren was opening up the store. The truck had come with today’s load of flowers; everything from gypsophila to sunflowers was being carried into the backroom of the store or put in the window displays for the people outside to enjoy. Kieren had the habit of filling the windows displays with so many flowers that it was hard to look outside. Not the he minded; he didn’t like the people who were outside. The majority of the people walking by were pale, had dark lips and cold white eyes. They were everything he hated about himself.

The store wasn’t placed in the kindest area in town. Two kinds of people lived here: happy single mothers, or PDS sufferers who were angry at the system. They were the kind that refused to wear contact lenses or the cover up mousse. They were the kind that wouldn’t mind going back to the untreated state of mind. This meant that the police were often around to look for blue oblivion. The only reason why Kieren felt safe owning a shop here, was because PDS sufferers don’t attack other PDS sufferers.

Not that many people knew he was a PDS sufferer though; he always wore the cover mousse and never told people if they didn’t ask.

There was one benefit of working where he did; right next to his shop was a tattoo shop. Kieren wasn’t a big fan of tattoos, he had been when he was a teenager, but now the idea of getting permanent print on his body seemed absurd. The thing that he did like about the store was the guy working in there. Kieren didn’t know his name, and he had never talked to him. All he knew about the guy was that he worked in the tattoo store, that he was a PDS sufferer, and that he always wore big sweaters.

Kieren also knew that if Kieren was able to blush, he would blush every time he saw the guy.

Every day, when Kieren closed his store, he would walk past the window of the tattoo shop and the guy would always stand behind the counter, and they would look at each other briefly, and then Kieren would continue to walk. Once Kieren has forgotten that he was supposed to go home, so he had looked at the guy for way too long as if he was under some kind of spell. It was only when the guy behind the counter had smirked at him that Kieren had continued to walk with a startled expression on his face.

He wasn’t sure if it was the crooked smile he had, or the big eyes, or his really stupid and perfect haircut. He wasn’t handsome, but at the same time he was. Kieren was so unimpressed by his appearance, but also very attracted to it. The guy dressed like he was always cold, which Kieren knew for a fact he wasn’t, because PDS sufferers do not feel cold or hot. They always felt indifferent.

As he was arranging one of today’s orders, a bouquet of daisies, the bell over the door rang. Kieren looked up and saw a girl with long brown hair with a pink rose in it, a big blue dress with a flower pattern and a pink cardigan. She was a PDS sufferer, but looked much more alive than most of the people who lived in the area.

“Welcome, how may I help you?” Kieren asked, looking at her flower dress and thinking in the back of his mind that she must’ve come to the right place.

“I’m looking for something” She said with a smile and walked over to the counter.

“Flowers?” Kieren snorted, his parents had always told him to stop being so sarcastic, but sometimes, he couldn’t stop himself, and the words blurted out.

“I was actually looking for you.” The girl said and poked his nose, which made Kieren wriggle it.

“Me?” Kieren raised an eyebrow, putting his bouquet down on the counter.

“Yes, I’ve seen you a few times after you came back.” She replied, “I sometimes have glimpses of your face when I try to sleep. We hunted together during the rising.” Her voice was so casual and her face looked so innocent. Kieren would never have taken her for a killer, but then again, neither would he ever take himself for one.

“How did you find me?” He shrugged, even though the girl wouldn’t be able to see it, he was panicking. His hands were shaking by the mention of the rising. To distract them he started fiddling with a flower.

“You’re not that hard to find, I just asked around.” She replied and sat on the counter.

“Do you know my name?” He asked.

“Nope.” She said with a smile.

“Kieren Walker.” Kieren said and held out a hand.

The girl took it with a smirk and said “Amy Dyer, at your service.”

Amy hung around for the rest of the afternoon, but had to go because of something with her grandmother. She had been raised by her grandmother and had gone to the local grammar school when she was a child. Kieren didn’t ask where her parents were, it didn’t seem like she wanted to talk about them. They had talked about their memories from the rising, the treatment centre and Amy talked about her dislike of having to hide.

Kieren had liked talking with her; since Rick was killed he didn’t know any other PDS sufferers and it felt like everyone else in the town tried to kill him. That was why he had gone into the city to work at the flower shop. In the city there were a lot of PDS sufferers, but they all looked like they were going to kill him as well.

* * *

 

“Simon” Freddie yelled from the other end of the store, their last costumer had just left. A young girl, a PDS sufferer, had gotten the text from her tombstone tattooed on her back.

“Not now.” Simon said from the counter, without looking at the direction of where his friend yelled; he was too busy looking through the glass door.

“We have run out of bloody gloves.” He threw the empty box of disposable gloves after Simon, “You were supposed to buy more boxes last week, you twat.”

“I will, later!” He snapped, usually Simon was a calm guy, but he was too distracted by his highlight of the day; when the lad from the flower store walked past the glass door of the tattoo store and look in for a second.

“Is it because you have to look at flower boy?” Freddie teased.

“Maybe.”

“I think you should talk to him.” Freddie suggested while cleaning needles from todays work “Doesn’t he usually leave at this hour? So why don’t you go outside when you see him, and ask if he knows where you can buy disposable gloves.”

“Shouldn’t a tattoo parlour know where he could buy disposable gloves?” Simon raised an eyebrow at his friend, as always he saw the flaws in Freddie’s plan.

“The place we usually buy them has closed forever?” He shrugged, “Flower boy probably won’t even notice it.”

“I don’t think-“

“Simon, listen to me.” Freddie grabbed Simon’s shoulder and shook it a bit, “Everyday, you look out that door” He held Simon’s chin and pointed Simon’s face towards the door, “And look for flower boy, now it’s about bloody time you talk to him. You’re acting like a little girl about this.”

“I am not acting like a girl; I just think it’s easier to admire him from a distance.”

“And now you’re acting like a creep about it.”

“Freddie I just t-“

“No Simon, for once stop thinking! Just go after him.”

“I can’t”

“Yes you can!” Freddie almost screamed and threw Simon’s parka at him, “Now go after flower boy.”

“Can you stop calling him flower boy?”

“When you tell me his name, I will stop calling him flower boy, but for now, he is flower boy.” Freddie pushed Simon away from the counter, “you have to stop being so afraid of rejection Simon, not everyone in this world is going to reject you.”

“But he’s not like us.” Simon complained, “He’s a human being.”

“So are you?”

“Yes, but he’s alive, have you seen his face? It’s warm, just like his brown eyes.”

“Simon” Freddie looked like he was going to slap him, “The only thing you have to worry about is that this guy might not be gay, and maybe the fact that he looks a bit too young for you.”

“Thanks Freddie, you’re helping a lot” Simon replied sarcastically.

“Just go out there you twat” Freddie said and opened the door for Simon, “And if you don’t do it for the lad, then do it for the gloves.”

“Fine.”

* * *

 

Kieren was done watering all the flowers, small trees and other plants; he was just closing up the store when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“Sorry, but I’m not handling anymore costumers today, it’s closed,” Kieren said and turned the key.

“No I was just wondering if you could help me,” the person said. It sounded like a man, his voice was soft.

“It really depends o-Oh,” Kieren squeaked. It was the guy from the tattoo store. And he was now standing right in front of him. He was taller than Kieren had expected, and was better looking up close. His voice was not like he had imagined at all; for some reason he had expected the guy’s voice to be rough, but instead it was very gentle. Kieren could feel his mouth going dry. He was suddenly happy that he wasn’t able to blush. “I-uhm-what can I help you with?”

“I was just wondering if you knew where to buy disposable gloves,” The guy murmured and looked down at his their feet. Kieren suddenly realised how close they were.

Kieren took a step back and looked up with the taller guy “Shouldn’t a tattoo artist know where to buy disposable gloves?”

“That’s what I said,” the guy sighed to himself with upturned eyes.

“What?” Kieren took another step back, the guy standing before him seemed like a nutter. He wasn’t sure whether he should leave or if he should continue talking to him, but then again, he had wanted to talk to him for months.

“I mean-“ The guy shook his head and ran a hand through his short hair, “I mean, of course I know, but the place I usually buy them has closed. Forever.”

“That’s a long time.” Kieren chuckled nervously and scratched his neck, “I mean, being closed forever that is-“

“Yeah,” The tall guy mirrored Kieren’s action and chuckled too.

After a few seconds of awkward smiles and Kieren rocking from side to side, he finally pulled himself together, “My name is Kieren, Kieren Walker but most people call me Kier. And, I think you can buy disposable gloves at the drug store.”

“Of course!” He exclaimed and it was obvious that he already knew that, “Also my name is Simon Monroe.”

“Well Simon Monroe, it was nice to meet you.” Kieren gave a quick nodand was about to continue walking when he was once again stopped in his act by Simon.

“I don’t know where the drug store is,” Simon lied with an innocent smile.

“I guess that I could show you where it is.”

“I was hoping you would,” Simon grinned.

When Kieren continued to walk to the drugstore, Simon was walking next to him like a puppy that didn’t know its way home. They didn’t speak, but once in a while one of them stole a glance at the other. Kieren was unsure if he should start a conversation but Simon was a step ahead of him.

“What are you doing at this part of town?” Simon asked and looked down at him.

“I work at the flower shop. I know that you know that.” Kieren rolled his eyes mentally.

“I actually meant; you look like a nice lad, what are you doing in a bad part of the town?”

“Oh.” Kieren started fiddling with his hands, “I needed a job. There isn’t much work for people like me in the nice parts. But the owner of the flower shop isn’t able to work anymore and hired me before I had even told him my name.” He laughed nervously. “So that’s how I got work in this part of town. I know it’s not the nicest area, but it’s close to the train station, so I take that home.”

“Where do you live?”

“I live in Roarton.” Kieren chewed on his lip, was it a good idea to giving information like this to a stranger? Probably not.

But for some odd reason he didn’t care.

“Roarton,” Simon said it again, “I don’t know where that is.”

“It’s in Lancashire.” Kieren shrugged, “And where do you live?”

“Just over my tattoo parlour. I live with my friend Freddie.”

“Oh okay.” Kieren nodded, “But shouldn’t you know where the drug store is if you’re both a tattoo artist and lives in the area?”

“Okay you got me; I just wanted an excuse to talk to you. But I really do need disposable gloves.” The taller guy put his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground.

“Oh” was all Kieren could say.

And once again; god bless that he couldn’t blush.

* * *

 

“Oh” Was all he said.

Because of that one word, Simon had already given up. He was obviously not interested. Why would he be interested in Simon anyway? He was a PDS sufferer, people didn’t like his kind. People walked on the other side of the street when they saw him.

“You’re not what I thought you would be like,” Kieren stated, and ripped Simon out the train that was his thoughts. “I thought you would be smaller and more tattoo-artist-ish. You know piercings and tattoos and wear black clothes and listen to hardcore rock. You seem really calm.”

“I do have tattoos, I used to have piercings as well, but after I came back from the dead, they weren’t interesting anymore.” Simon replied and wanted to kick himself for using the phrase _I came back from the dead_ , not that it wasn’t obvious, but he was already nervous enough.

“Yeah, I used to be really punk. Now I don’t feel like wearing clothes like that anymore.” Kieren shrugged and kicked a stone, “I’m glad you talked to me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while. But everytime I got too nervous. You look kind of scary, you know?” Kieren chuckled, “Besides, it would be stupid to go into a tattoo parlour without wanting to get a tattoo. I would have no excuse for talking to you.”

“You could ask where…” Simon got silent, trying to think what a flower shop would need that it didn’t already have. Flowers? No. Water? Of course a flower shop has water. “I have no idea.” He smirked and shrugged. Before he could come with a lame suggestion, Kieren spoke.

“There’s the drug store.” Kieren said and pointed towards a small store on the other side of the street, “I guess we have to part here.” His lips had formed a thin line.

“I guess so.”

None of them said anything, both of them swayed easely from side to side, waiting for the other one to say something. It was Simon who once again had to say the first thing:

“Can I see you again?”

“Of course, I mean we see each other every day?”

“No” Simon shook his head, “I mean; could I take you out?”

“Like a date?” Kieren look up at Simon with a confused look on his face.

“Yeah. I mean no. I mean-“Simon sighed deeply, “Whatever you want it to be.”

“Okaaay.” Kieren paused and then a small grin crept across his face.

 _I guess we ‘mean a lot’_ he thought, but kept his bad joke to himself.

Still smiling Kieren nodded slowly, “It’s a date then.”

“Great.”

“Great.”

And with that, Kieren turned around and walked away. Simon started walking towards the drug store. He looked back and saw Kieren turning his head. He smiled to himself, the kind of smile that one isn’t sure will stop and he was pretty sure he was feeling butterflies in his stomach.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all thanks for all of the nice comments and for leaving kudos! It makes me so happy! As one commenter pointed out, no my first language is not English; it's Danish. So if my commas confuse you, I'm sorry but the Danish comma is kind of stuck. I try my best to follow the English comma rules but a few slip.  
> I didn't expect to be able to post every other day, but I was surprised by project week right after the holiday was over. Once again thanks a million times to my perfect beta Liarki ♥

”Simon?” Freddie knocked on the door to Simon’s small room in the flat. His voice was toneless. He entered the room despite Simon’s lack of response. His best friend was sitting in his bed with a big grin, his guitar was beside him but Freddie had not heard him play it, “Did you get the gloves?”

“Of course I got the gloves; they are downstairs in the parlour,” Simon replied but he didn’t look at Freddie. He was too busy thinking about big deer like brown eyes and a small mouth that he had not been able to look away from. He couldn’t stop thinking about a name.

_Kieren Walker_

Simon felt like he was high. He felt like he was flying. The only thing that made him come back to earth was his friend:

“Let’s cut the crap, Monroe. Did you talk with flower boy?” Freddie asked, leaning against the door frame. Simon knew that Freddie knew the answer judging by his expression.

“Yes. Now he has a name.”

“Do tell.”

“His name is Kieren,” Simon said with a big smile. He wasn’t sure if he could ever stop smiling.

“Kieren, the flower boy.” Freddie laughed, “I like the sound of that.” He jumped onto the bed and pushed Simon gently “So are you going to see him again?” One of the reasons why Freddie was Simon’s best friend was because he was always a ‘ _the glass is half full’_ -kind of guy while Simon was very negative and always came with suggestions on how everything could go wrong.

_Who are going to let us open a tattoo parlour?_

_What if people report us?_

_What if something goes wrong?_

Simon’s negativity and Freddie’s always on the bright side attitude with a hint of bitterness made them the perfect pair. But sometimes, Freddie was more ignorant than realistic. Simon knew that Freddie wasn’t stupid, so his ignorance had to be a choice. “Ignorance is bliss” people say.

After Freddie found out that his wife had moved on, he had ignored that fact and had still said he was married man. Freddie had been forced to move out by his wife’s new husband, so they opened a tattoo parlour for the bit of money they had. Simon was the only one who had been a tattoo artist, but Freddie had learned quickly how to do it. Freddie wasn’t much of an artist (neither was Simon) but they were both good at using references.

And one thing they suddenly didn’t have to worry about was pain; all of their customers were PDS sufferers. They would get tattoos the weirdest places; all of them somehow related to their previous lives.

“I suppose I will see him again, I see him every-“

“You’re such a wanker. You know what I mean.” Freddie snarled. Simon could tell he was going for more juicy details, which there sadly wasn’t _any_ of. A small voice inside of Simon was hoping there soon would be some details to tell his friend.

“We agreed to see each other again, yes,” Simon said with a matter of fact tone.

“You’re going on a date with lover boy?” Freddie teased and ruffled Simon’s hair, “Will Simon Monroe soon get laid?”

“It’s not a date, Freddie.” Simon sighed, “I’m tired will you let me sleep?” He really was tired. He didn’t feel tired often. He usually went weeks without sleep. He had been dead, how much sleep could he need? But tonight he felt like his body was much heavier than usual and his eyelids weighed a ton.

“You never sleep.” Freddie reminded him, “I’ve never understood why you even have a bed. You don’t have sex and you don’t sleep.”

Freddie slept. Often. Even though people usually took Simon for the calm one, Freddie was the only one of them who was always calm enough to sleep.

On the other hand; Freddie didn’t have the image of him killing his own mother burned into his memory. It was one of the main reasons why Simon couldn’t sleep.

“I sleep sometimes,” Simon pointed out, “You woke me up last week, remember?”

“It wasn’t proper sleep.” Simon would often just lie in his bed and close his eyes and turn off his brain for a while. Simon thought it was as good as sleeping, Freddie called it meditation.

“Define proper sleep then.”

“Whatever, it’s late.” Freddie stood up and was about to walk through the door when he turned around. He looked like he was about to say something, but he just shook his head and left the room, forgetting to close the door.

Simon wondered what that was all about, but was smart enough to ignore it. Freddie was weird sometimes and mostly it was better to look past it. Freddie had for a long time seemed like he had something on his mind. Simon had asked a few times but the reply had always been the same.

_“It’s nothing.”_

* * *

It was pouring down. The sweet smell of rain was heavy in the air when Kieren left early for work. He went down to the train station and waited for his train to arrive. He stood out in the rain; he was too distracted by the thought of a tall figure with dark hair and a crooked smile to be bothered with the rain.

“Hello hot-stuff.” Someone stood next to him.

“Amy?” Kieren was surprised to see her, considering he had only met her once before, “I didn’t know you lived in Roarton?”

“You should know that. Have you heard of any untreated PDS-sufferers that have travelled long?” Amy shook her head, as if Kieren didn’t understand anything, “Besides, that’s how I found you, everybody in this town knows you.”

“Then you should’ve known me as well,” Kieren pointed out.

“Maybe I was dead before I could’ve met you. Besides, I used a lot of time at the hospital.” Amy sighed. Her expression suddenly went from happy to concern.

“Why did you spend a lot of time at the hospital?” Kieren asked. He didn’t know if it appropriate to ask something like that. He didn’t talk to a lot of PDS-sufferers so he didn’t know if it was okay to ask how people die. Personally, Kieren would have hated to tell people how he had died.

“I lost the battle to leukaemia,” She looked down at her hands, her fingers filled with rings in different colours and sizes.

Kieren didn’t know what to say. He looked down at her hands as well, and noticed ink on her wrist. Like yesterday, she was wearing a long blazer, but today her wrist was visible and her dress had a bigger cut which revealed small tattoos on her collarbones. “You have tattoos?”

“Yeah” She said and took of her blazer, revealing a sleeve of small tattoos of flowers, bows and something that looked like doodles that Kieren couldn’t make out what was supposed to be. “I got them at the parlour next to your shop.”

“You know Simon?” Kieren asked, the thought of Amy knowing Simon made him feel kind of uneasy.

“Yes, we’ve been friends for a while.” She shrugged, “I always wanted tattoos before I died, but never got the chance to. But now-“ her fingertips trailed the lines of the tattoos, “I have them.” She smiled to herself.

Kieren smiled as well. He was happy that she was happy. They sat quiet until Kieren heard the train arrive. He stood up and looked down at Amy. “So are you going as well?”

“I wasn’t planning to no. I just wanted to say hello to you Kieren Walker.” She stood up and brushed away dirt from her big dress. “So, ‘hello Kieren Walker’”

“Thank you Amy Dyer” He bowed down slightly and smiled at her. He walked backwards into the train waving at her; he almost fell when he had to enter the train. When he had gotten a seat and looked out of the window she was gone. He bit his lip and looked at the seat in front of him. It was green. Like Simon’s stupid parka.

Kieren wanted to slap himself for being such a sappy romantic but it wouldn’t make a difference since he wasn’t able to feel things. -Except he was definitely feeling something, something warm in his stomach. He hadn’t felt like this since he met Rick.

_Rick_

He felt kind of bad for suddenly fantasizing about Simon. Kieren knew that Rick was dead and that you couldn’t cheat on a dead person, but still something inside of him suddenly twisted. He didn’t know how to make it stop; both the mental images of Simon and Rick made him twist. He decided to ignore both of them and think about how good that dinner he had pretended to eat last night had looked.

Kieren looked outside, at the small town of Roarton disappearing and the town coming into sight in the distance. He put cheek on the window and listened to the rain outside as he tried getting a better look of the city and sighed deeply. Why did everything always have to be so complicated for him? He removed his cheek from the window and noticed a big nude coloured stain on the window. He touched his cheek and looked at his fingers. Because he had been standing in the rain, his cover mousse was melting.

“Great” Kieren mumbled to himself and went into the small toilet located in the train. It smelled like piss in there. He looked in his bag for his cover up mousse. He found the little container, but couldn’t find anything to apply it with.

“Jem” Kieren swore under his breath. Who else would have stolen it? He did a pathetic attempt of applying it with his fingers. His sister Jem always said that it was obvious that it was cover up mousse, that it looked too obvious. Then she should see it now. It was uneven and the layer was thicker on the left side than the right side. He tried to fix it with toilet paper, but it just made it worse.

* * *

“Is it just me, or is it even creepier to stare at people you know from a distance, than strangers?” Freddie mumbled from the other end of the room, obviously referring to the way Simon was staring out of the glass door, just like he had done a million times before. But it was different now because he had talked to Kieren and (kind of) knew him.

Two girls, who surprisingly enough weren’t PDS sufferers, were looking at tattoo designs in the small parlour. It was only 9 am; they usually didn’t open this early. Personally Simon didn’t think any wise decisions could be made by the living before 12. The only reason why they opened this early was because there was a PDS club not far away and their most frequent costumers were the people who came from that club in the early hours of the morning when they were still a little drunk.

Freddie had once dragged Simon with him to the club. The place served goat brains and big brains, brains has the same effect on PDS sufferers under treatment as alcohol has to the living. The club was also named brains, Freddie thought the name was genius and Simon thought it was a poor excuse for a name. Personally Simon didn’t like the club; the music was too loud, the people were too loud, the people in there’s clothes was too loud. He had left not long after.

“Your point being?” Simon glared at him from the counter, he didn’t need Freddie’s comments this morning, and especially not when there were costumers.

“My point being: you have talked to the guy. He’s obviously interested. So stop wasting your bloody time stalking him from behind the counter when you could have conversations with him right now.” Freddie sighed loudly.

“You’re probably right.” Simon confessed. One thing he had to admit: Freddie didn’t know a lot, but he knew everything about dating, “But he’s not PDS?”

“Of course I’m right. And you shouldn’t worry about him being alive, most people are. You’re too-“

Freddie was interrupted by one of the girls that held up her phone showing him a picture, “That’s the worst thing to get tattooed.”

“Freddie!” Simon snapped.

“She wants a fucking yolo tattoo. I think you and I are perfect example that ‘you only live once’ is a bloody lie.”

“What about ‘the costumer is always right’?” Simon’s lips made a thin line. He looked from the Freddie to the girls. Freddie and the girl who wanted to “yolo” tattoo both looked very unamused.

“That’s also a stupid tattoo design. You should know better ‘Mon” Freddie rolled his eyes and picked up their design book, “We make the things in this book.” He handed it to the girl who had showed him the tattoo design. The girl with the phone swore under her breath, while her friend started giggling, obviously very amused about the whole thing. Freddie looked at Simon and send him a _thank god I’m not a teenager anymore_ look.

“Will you be okay?” Simon asked.

“What?” Freddie blurted.

“Would you be okay if I left for a bit?” Simon asked again with a little more power in his voice.

“I’ll only be okay if you’re leaving me for flower boy.”

“Of course,” Simon reassured him. Freddie just waved his hand towards the door while the girls finally had found a design they were interested in.

* * *

 

Kieren had just turned the “open” sign on the door when Simon walked inside.

“Well someone was very eager to get flowers this morning.” Kieren remarked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“You know what they say; the early bird gets the worm.” Simon reminded him.

“I do not sell worms, I sell flowers.” Kieren pointed out, “So I guess that would make you a bee.”

“What about the birds and the bees?” Simon blurted out. The second he had said it, he looked terrified. Kieren wondered if he was trying to flirt or he didn’t mean to make an innuendo. “I’m sorry I-“

“Don’t sweat it.” Kieren laughed, “Well you can’t, but if you could; don’t sweat it.”

Simon once again looked like someone had slapped him (and he had been able to feel it). Kieren held a hand over his mouth, “I didn’t mean to offend you, I just-“

“It’s fine,” Simon ensured him, but Kieren wasn’t sure he meant it. “I was just surprised. You are right though; I don’t sweat, or freeze.”

“I know. I didn’t know you would look so startled,” Kieren stuttered, “Just one question.”

“Shoot.”

“If you don’t freeze why do you always dress like you’re about to go skiing?” Kieren asked. “I’m sorry if that’s a weird question.”

“I like sweaters,” Simon explained, “There isn’t more to it.”

“Yeah, but you could lose the parka,” Kieren pointed out.

“That is very true. I guess I just like wearing a lot of clothes.” He shrugged.

Kieren hadn’t expected that answer. He wasn’t sure what answer he had expected, but something as simple as _I like sweaters_ was somehow very disappointing. He had stared at Simon every day for months. He had thought about the whole sweater issue since day 1. He was expecting some interesting story about scars, like his own.

“I always assumed you were hiding something.”

“ _The thief assumes every man is stealing_ ,” Simon quoted, “Do you have anything to hide?”

It was Kieren’s turn to look startled. He mumbled something but he wasn’t even sure what he had said to himself. He looked over at the flowers in the window, “I just thought a really lame tattoo that would scare costumers away.” He chucked nervously.

“Ah,” Simon nodded slowly, “No, none of those. I have a lot of lame tattoos. But it’s the standard kind of lame.”

“What’s the standard?”

“First I got a cross on my shoulder. Second I got the lamest one of all; A heart with the word _Mum_ inside. I just thought it was cool back then.” He suddenly went silent and looked extremely uncomfortable. “Sorry, just remembered that my mother was furious when I got it and now she’s not alive.”

“Uh… I’m sorry to hear that.” Kieren scratched his neck. The air between them was thick and awkward. “I used to be punk. So I don’t think I can say anything is lame.” He laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Punk? You?” Simon raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry, but you seem too adorable to be punk.”

“I didn’t say I looked punk face-wise. But my clothes were punk. It was the kind of thing that makes you stand out.” Kieren explained and went into the backroom to pick up some tools for cutting flowers. When he returned Simon was leaning up against the wall, picking pedals from a pink gerbera. “You are going to have to pay for that, you know,” Kieren said and took a bucket of spathiphyllum and placed it on the counter.

“Why did you stop?” Simon asked as Kieren started cutting the flowers’ bottom off and leaves.

“Stop what?” He asked as he threw a withered flower in another bucket.

“Being punk? Did you get tired of it or did you grow out of it?” Simon picked up another gerbera, this time bright orange.

“I just feel like I already stand out enough without the clothes,” Kieren said and ripped off a leaf and looked fumbled with the knife, he was suddenly nervous. He didn’t like being different when it wasn’t a choice of his own. Now he was different no matter what he wore or how much cover up mousse he wore, “and honestly, standing out is the last thing I want to.”

“I gave up on the whole hiding thing.” Simon ripped the head of the flower off and was wrapping the stem around his fingers.

“Why?” Kieren asked. The reason why he liked his job here was that his costumers didn’t know that he was PDS. He felt like he fit in like he had done before.

“I tried for a while but everyone could tell, I think,” Simon confessed, “I wasn’t fooling anyone, so why even try?”

“You’re a lot more than just sweaters and ugly parkas aren’t you?” Kieren teased. He finished cutting the last bottom off. He filled the bucket with fresh water and put it in the back room.

“I’m also a tattoos, knitting, guitar playing, poetry, a love for books and no skills what so ever at flirting.” Simon laughed and picked up yet another flower.

“You knit?” Kieren laughed from the back room. When he came back he frowned _how many flowers was he planning to destroy for the sake of distraction?_ “I might as all charge you for the whole bucket.”

“I was planning to buy you flowers after knowing you a bit longer than just a day, but sure, the whole bucket please,” Simon said and picked up the bucket with a big grin.

“Buying flowers for a florist is probably the worst idea I’ve ever heard. But good attempt at flirting, I will have to give you that.” Kieren shook his head.

“I’ll buy you something else then. Chocolate?” He suggested.

Kieren’s eyes shot up and looked at Simon with a strange look. Why would he suggest something eatable? PDS sufferers couldn’t eat proper food without throwing up, and Kieren couldn’t imagine throwing up on the first date could be a good idea, except if Simon was into some really weird stuff, _well it’s better to find out now than after months_ he thought to himself. He crooked his head to the side, “I can’t eat chocolate?”

“Allergies? That’s fine, I’ll think of something.” Simon said. Kieren’s first thought was that he was really serious about buying him stuff for a date. -Which meant that there one day would be a date? The thought made something inside of him feel warm. He wouldn’t say he was crushing on Simon, but there sure was an attraction.

On the other hand, Simon thought he couldn’t eat food because of allergies. _Allergies? What is he onto?_ Didn’t he know he was PDS? He had to know. His cover up had never fooled another PDS before; they all knew how it looked. Simon didn’t seem like an easy guy to fool. In confusion the only thing he managed to say was: “Sounds lovely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes about this chapter:
> 
> Simon doesn't know Kieren is PDS in this fic (so far)  
> It's canon that Kieren used to be punk.  
> It's not canon that Simon knits but it just fits him so well.  
> Amy is a tattoo babe  
> Simon's cross tattoo looks like this: http://smonroes.tumblr.com/post/112508660151
> 
> FLOWERS (I'm not a flower expert) :  
> Spathiphyllum is also known as peace lily. Often used in bouquets. They don't smell, but has a very elegant look.  
> Gerbera is very similar to a daisy. It has a lot of pedals, which is mainly why I chose it. It comes in a great variety of colours.  
> \+ I'm not sure if it's just in Denmark, but here we store the flowers in buckets when they aren't being sold. Both in flowerstores and on markets.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please leave kudos it always makes me happy! And if you have a second, why not leave a comment to tell me what you think?
> 
> If you want to follow me on tumblr and ask me questions or get updates for the fic (Warning: I post a lot of stuff) my tumblr is Danishnerd.tumblr.com


End file.
